


Accident

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: Fraxus [41]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Accidents, Domestic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 13:55:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19831618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: Their room had long since become lined with bookshelves, most filled to overflowing, but now, one of the larger bookcases had come away from the wall and was lying partially propped against the bed, the floor around it littered in books. However, what caught his attention was a familiar flash of green peeking out from under the mess, and for a moment, he froze, his breath catching in his throat.Freed…





	Accident

The house was quiet for once. Evergreen and Bickslow had taken one look at Laxus’ expression that morning and decided that they were going to spend the day at the guild. The former rolling her eyes and explaining to Freed in a stage whisper that they were giving the two of them space after the Rune Mage had absently mentioned joining them, his nose buried in a book. Laxus still wasn’t sure which of them had been more embarrassed, although he had to admit she was glad she had, because as much as he loved the Raijinshuu, the long string of jobs had left him itching for time alone with Freed.

Although maybe he was the only one who felt like that because Freed had disappeared upstairs to put the book he had been reading away and hadn’t returned. Laxus was just considering going to find him, putting the last of the dishes away, and wondering whether he could convince Freed to go out for dinner tonight when there was an almighty crash from upstairs. The last plate sliding through his hands and smashing on the ground as he turned and bolted from the room as he realised that it had come from the direction of their bedroom. “Freed?! FREED!” He shouted, his pace increasing when there was no response to his frantic shouts. What the hell could have happened? They were at home, and as far as he knew there was nothing coming after the Guild at the moment? Had he missed something?

He took the stairs two at a time, more and more questions welling up, and he nearly took the bedroom door off its hinges in his hurry to get to his mate. Skidding to a halt as he took in the destruction that had taken over their bedroom. Their room had long since become lined with bookshelves, most filled to overflowing, but now, one of the larger bookcases had come away from the wall and was lying partially propped against the bed, the floor around it littered in books. However, what caught his attention was a familiar flash of green peeking out from under the mess, and for a moment, he froze, his breath catching in his throat.

_Freed…_

A low groan shook him out of his shock, and he was across the room in the blink of an eye, circling around to peer under the bookcase, not daring to move it just yet for fear of hurting Freed more. “Freed? Freed can you hear me?” He could barely see Freed’s face at this angle, but the Rune Mage was stirring, grimacing as he blinked his eyes open, groaning again as he tried to tilt his head towards the sound of Laxus’ voice. “Freed? Can you answer me?”

“No…” Freed’s voice was a low whisper, the pain evident in his voice, but Laxus relaxed a little at the reply. If he was alert enough to quip, then it couldn’t be too bad. He hoped. He leant back, trying to work out how the weight was resting on his partner, and the best way to ease it off, beginning to regret the fact that they were the only ones in the house.

“What happened?” He asked, wanting to keep Freed talking as he glanced back and saw that his eyes were shut. Luckily at his question, Freed blinked and tilted his head back towards him.

“I was trying to put the book back up on top, and the whole thing tipped over,” Freed admitted sheepishly, pushing at some of the books covering him, looking as though they had personally offended him, before paling as he clearly caught whatever injuries were currently hidden from sight. Laxus noted the reaction, even as he huffed at the reply. He had been trying to get Freed to cut back on his book collection for ages, even though he knew that he had helped to add to it because he loved the way that his mate would light up when he got a new book. Now, he wished he’d been more insistent, or that they’d taken the time to check the shelves and bookcases properly, because this wasn’t the first time one had collapsed, although they had never fallen on Freed before. However, that was something to talk about later, preferably when Freed was safely tucked up with him, and as he saw Freed wincing again, he reached out and carefully brushed his fingers over Freed’s forehead, eyes narrowing as he felt blood beneath his fingers.

“Stay still, I’ll get you out of there,” he murmured, not letting his increased concern bleed through as he pulled his hand back and glanced at his now bloody fingers.

“’ kay,” Freed sounded a little out of it, but utterly trusting and Laxus took a deep breath before pushing himself back to his feet and moving around to the other side, kicking books out of the way, lips quirking as he heard the offended noises from Freed.

He grabbed the edge of the bookcase, and carefully began to ease it up and off to the side, one ear trained on Freed’s reaction, not wanting to cause him more damage. It was heavy, an old, wooden bookcase that Freed had brought with him when he’d moved in, and it creaked ominously as the Dragon-slayer slowly pulled it off Freed. He guided back into the gap it had come from, for the time being, making sure that it wouldn’t immediately topple over once more before letting go and darting back to Freed’s side, just as the Rune Mage started to try and push himself upright. “What part of stay still did you not get?” He demanded, reaching him just in time to steady Freed as he threatened to topple to the side with a pained noise as he realised that leaning on his arm was a bad idea.

“I’m sorry…?” Confusion was bleeding through the pain now, and with the bookcase out of the way and Freed slumped against his side, there was no way Laxus could miss the gash across Freed’s temple or the way he was holding his arm. “Laxus…I…what happened?”

“Okay, I’m taking you to the guild,” Laxus decided. He’d hoped that this would be something that he could deal with home, but while they were all able to deal with minor injuries, he wasn’t about to mess with head injuries and what looked like it might be a broken arm. Freed frowned at that, going to shake his head, before realising that was a bad idea, looking as though he was going to throw up at any moment. Seconds crept by, and slowly he sank into Laxus’ hold, the Dragon-slayer waiting until the danger seemed to have passed, before beginning the arduous process of getting Freed to his feet. Steadying him when he listed to the side and wrapping an arm around him when he continued to waver. “Up you go,” Laxus muttered, realising that they weren’t going to get anywhere like this, taking advantage of Freed’s confusion and unsteadiness to sweep him up into his arms, mindful of his injuries.

He waited for the protests and wiggling, knowing that Freed hated being carried or fussed over, his stomach sinking when instead Freed merely curled into him. Dropping a kiss to Freed’s forehead, he carefully picked his way through the scattered books and made a beeline for the door. “We’re going to need to get rid of some of these books,” he added, stumbling on one, his grip tightening on Freed to make sure that he didn’t drop them.

“No!” That got him a reply, Freed blinking up at him, trying and failing to look fierce as his focus wavered again, and Laxus was torn between laughter and groaning because of course Freed would be more worried about his books than himself. Still, there was a pleading light in his partner’s eyes that had him glancing away, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to resist, but even as he focused on getting them out of the house and to the guild, he found himself already planning how to reinforce the shelves and make them more secure. Realising belatedly that he had already given in, even before Freed let his head fall against his shoulder, a faint smile that was ruined by the pain lining his features creeping across his lips. “Thank you.”

****

Laxus cursed as the shelf slipped out of his fingers again, just managing to grab hold of it before it could fall and land on his feet. He was already sporting bruises from doing this, and he had a feeling that he was only going to get more before this was done, and not for the first time he wondered how anyone could find enjoyment int doing stuff like this. A quiet noise from behind him, had him glancing over his shoulder to find that Freed who had been banished to the bed to ‘supervise’ had scooted to the edge. Watching him with a worried frown and clearly half a second from pushing himself up to help and freezing in place when he realised that Laxus was looking at him.

“I could help?” Freed offered, sounding somewhat sheepish, as Laxus had made him promise that he would stay put and rest, and knowing that he had just been caught.

“No,” Laxus snapped before he could stop himself, sighing when Freed tensed at his tone and taking a deep breath before he tried again in a softer tone. “The whole reason I’m doing this is because I don’t want you getting hurt again!” He couldn’t stop his voice from rising at the end, the fear that had gripped him when he had first found Freed trapped beneath the bookcase and books still lingering. It didn’t help that he knew that it could have been far worse. Especially, as it had been a week since Freed’s accident, and his partner still had a bandage covering the stitched gash on his forehead, that had left him with a minor concussion that had kept him in the Guild infirmary. While his left arm was carefully held against his chest with a sling, Laxus insisting on the sling after he had caught Freed trying to do things with his injured arm from the moment he was allowed to come home, and he was counting the minutes until the sling miraculously came loose and got lost. Still, the visible evidence made it harder for him to forget what had happened, and apparently Freed had realised because he subsided and glanced down.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered.

Realising that he was letting his mood bring them both down Laxus set the shelf down, leaning it against the others before turning around and closing the distance between them. Without a word, he wrapped his arms around Freed, bending over until he could press a kiss to the top of his partner’s head, pleased when Freed leant into the contact without hesitation. Things weren’t too bad if the Rune Mage was willing to lean on him, it was when he pulled away that Laxus knew he had pushed too hard.

“Don’t apologise,” he scolded lightly. “Just let me do this, okay?” He framed it as a question, but there was no way he was going to let Freed go anywhere near the shelves until he knew that they were safe, as there was only so much that his heart could take. He felt Freed’s shoulders slump before he nodded, and smiled, knowing that it was hard for Freed to stand aside and let himself be taken care of, and while he would have preferred for a more peaceful way to get to this point, Laxus liked having the chance to do it. Besides, with Freed out of action for a little while, it meant that they were getting some alone time, as Bickslow and Evergreen had gone to do a job together, after seeing how frustrated their Captain was after realising that he was going to be unable to work for a few weeks at least. And he smiled at that thought, glad that Freed couldn’t see his expression, before kissing him on the top of his head again, before taking a step back. “Let me finish this, and then we can go and get some lunch… and stop by the bookshop.” He added with a sigh, knowing that he was screwed the moment that Freed’s face lit up.

_We’re going to need more shelves._


End file.
